This invention relates to an apparatus for emulsifying and atomizing fluid fuels with secondary fluids, in particular water.
Long available commercially have been emulsifiers for emulsifying a variety of fluids, such as fluid fuels of the kind of fuel oil, naphta, and other thick fuels, with water which serve the function of mixing the fuel with the liquid in order to improve fuel economy, with obvious advantages of an economical and energy character. Commercially available emulsifiers operate on different principles; as an example, known are mechanical systems, systems operating on mechanical chemical principles, and ultrasonic or catalytic apparata. Such systems, irrespective of the principles on which they are based, cannot provide a high specific power, and while affording different effectiveness levels, in all cases provide inadequate levels.
Furthermore, from European Patent Application No. 82101101.2 filed on Feb. 15, 1982, an ultrasonic apparatus is known, wherein a piezoelectric transducer energized by a generator of periodic waves comprises a base block associated with a flow line for the product being treated which comprises fuel and water, and wherein associated with the base block are a plurality of piezoelectric pads interleaved with electric contacts with different polarities electrically connected to the generator and clamped onto the base block by means of a counterblock.
The apparatus just described, thanks to its constructional features, affords considerably higher specific power than prior systems, and consequently a much more effective treatment of the fluids to be emulsified.